Christmas 2011

Kyler's Christmas present....Kasey sure is going to miss this tree:


Kyler is just like his Mommy..LOVES Christmas. He is wearing a Snowman Santa hat that he found and has had a hard time taking off:


My Very Special Christmas Present:


Our Christmas weekend started by Kyler and I headed to the Toyota Dealership to have a "boo-boo" replaced on my car. We were there an hour and then headed north to Gramma's to help get things ready for Saturday's events.

We first went to visit Gramma at work to let her know were were there!:

It was a busy excellent weekend. Here are some pictures of Gramma's Christmas Tree with all the goodies underneath and beside it. Every year we say that we don't have money and then.... this happens:

Needless to say, we all had a great Christmas:

We went to Grandma Great's for lunch and the Grand kids did a pile up on Gramma's lap:

Kolton received some gifts as well (very exciting).. including this burp cloth:

These two boys LOVE some tractors!!

This beauty LOVES to be dressed up and pretty:

I got this from my Mommy and it's SO true:

Rub-a-dub-dub...two handsome boys in the tub. They got bubbles for Christmas and just HAD to put them to use!:

Shortly after bath time, we loaded up and headed home as we didn't want to miss Santa stopping by our house the next morning. We had to make sure the dogs were put away and we were in bed so he could come in.

This is our Christmas tree after Santa arrived:

Our Mini Tree and Santa took out Kyler's tractors and trucks he received from family members and placed them all around this table:

Santa even put 3 small gifts under Kyler's personal tree in his room:

When Kyler woke up, he was SO excited and of coarse made a b-line right to the tractor table! I love his look here.. he's saying "wooooow!!":

He immediately wanted to sit at the table and play with his tractors. Didn't care there was anything under the tree to unwrap. HA!:

Daddy helped me convince him to come over and look in his stocking:

And what do you know..another WOOOOOW!! There was Cars 2 DVD in there!:

With Daddy saying there might be more tractors or Cars or Mater to unwrap, that got a little interest in someone (poor Daddy having to lay on the floor):

As if Daddy knew,, there IS Lightening McQueen.. or as Kyler calls him.. Race Car:

How'd you guess???..another WOOOOOOW! I love hearing him say this:

This was one of the smaller presents under his personal tree in his room. He got "Race Car"; Mater and some flash cards:

Once all the presents were unwrapped; we headed back into the living room to see what was up with that blanket. Here Kyler is helping Daddy figure out what is under it:

It's a CARS bike!!!:

Oh how he couldn't wait to get on it.. until it moved and then he bolted off and hasn't been on it since. Sigh.. But on my days off, we will be going to the park to work on it. Wish us luck:

Now this tent was a HUGE hit (thank you Adopt A Family):

He was having a BLAST in it for the longest time. He took all of his new goodies in with him. Look at that smile!:

Here I was being told "NO Mommy; get out!". I asked him if Daddy could come in and he said Yes! Guess that's what I get for being Queen of our Castle. HA!:

A little after playing for a while, we got ready and headed over to Aunt Sherry and Uncle Kevin's to have Christmas with them; Zak and "Nikus". He was making race car sounds here cause he got a lot of race cars:

Oh and he even got his Very Own Camera.. Now Mommy can keep hers! Here he is taking a picture of me taking one of him:

And a BIG Smooch to Aunt Sherry for it:

Later that night we all gathered back up at our house to have Christmas Dinner hosted by yours truly for her first time ever! We had a great turn out and fit 9 people at our new table!

Nikus brought over a new DVD that he got and while I was preparing dinner the kiddos watched it. I caught Kyler having snuggle time with Aunt Sherry. See Aunt Sherry, evidence he DOES love you!:

And since we haven't taken many pictures of this pregnancy, Daddy snapped this one of me before we hit the hay. Yes, I'm HUGE for only 5 months:

Half Baked!

That's right.. today marks Kolton as being "Half Baked" 134 days to go!:

Mother (and mother's comments):
You are half way through your pregnancy! Congratulations! Your belly button may pop out and stay that way as your uterus presses upwards (oh goodie, cause right now my belly looks like a kidney bean). Some people will have trouble breathing as their lungs become cramped (and what am I supposed to do for the 4 additional months?). This will usually continue until the baby "drops." (if he drops anymore, he's going to fall out!) In a first pregnancy this can occur as early as 4-6 weeks before or not until labor. Once the baby drops you will have to urinate more frequently (because every 5-10 minutes now isn't good enough?), hard to believe? Remembering to do your pelvic tilts prior to laying down will hopefully allow you a few more minutes before the next bathroom break.

Baby (no Mommy comments on this one):
Lanugo forms from sebum and skin cells to create vernix. This creamy white substance is believed to help protect the baby. It will cling to the lanugo and in the creases. This is also something that can be seen sometimes after the birth. It is known for its smooth, protective quality.
You may be aware of sleep wake cycles in your little one. The weight is now up to 10 ounces (283 grams) and the baby measures about 25 cms total length, about 9.8 inches. Many moms have an ultrasound at week 20. It may be your first peek at baby.

Dad (and Mommy's comments):
Take mom out to dinner to celebrate the half-way point in pregnancy (boy..too bad Daddy doesn't read my blog!). My husband adds that a gift for the baby is also a nice touch. This is particularly true if you're just finding out if your baby is a girl or a boy.

Adopt A Family

Today our family was blessed by Adopt A Family. A few blogs back I wrote about this wonderful organization who help families out who have fallen on hard times. Someone that I work with referred my name to one of our Sergeants who is in contact with this group and long story short...we were blessed by them today.

We sadly missed the police escort on camera. We got to see them as they were rounding the corner to make way for the 200+ motorcyclist coming. Kyler was SO excited and overwhelmed. He wanted Momma to hold him during all this commotion. This is the beginning of the group which wraps around the corner bend of the road:


The middle group:


Some of the end..but as you can see..still cars coming. The silver car is a police escort:



The first gentleman who approached us had a pillow case he was carrying and inside he told Kyler he had a present for him...it was a toy motorcycle. Kyler light up like a Christmas Tree. He told he man thank you and even shook his hand. He then turned to Daddy and said "here open". Daddy had to open the box so Kyler could physically have his hands on his very own motorcycle.

Chris and I hugged / kissed / shook hands / spoke to / wished Merry Christmas and Thanked with 400-ish people. Each motorcycle was double riders. Not to mention a few car fulls. It was AWESOME and I cried like a mashed cat through a majority of it. I was good in the beginning and then seeing so many people who care just over took me.

As they were finished stocking our house up with food; household goods/products; and presents for Kyler; they all came out to join Chris, Kyler and I to sing We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Here is "Santa" and his "Elf" leading the song (these guys were characters):

Mr. Ray....THE MAN! He's the one who contacted us and met with us and sat everything up for us. Just talking with this man makes me want to be a better person. I SO hope that Chris and I are in the financial state to be able to assist him next year in helping a family out. If not next year..we WILL pay it forward one way or another!:

Just a small batch of the group singing:

A few more singers:


And some more:


When we said our good-byes and Thanked everyone again. We came in and were met with a table and counter tops full of food and a turkey in the sink....


Presents for Kyler under the tree...


Another look at the tree with presents; paper towels; and Chris' Christmas gift a HUGE box of Trix Cereal. He was SO excited about that:


Kyler found "Rudolph" first and has not let him down:


He immediately took his new motorcycle (also seen in his hand in the above picture) and Rudolph and went to the couch to play. ~~Readers, be ware; this picture will Melt your hearts!!:




Chris and I then started assessing everything and wondering where to start first when we had moved the household items from under the tree when Kyler found hidden... an unwrapped present and just HAD to have it now.. "Dadda pweeeaaaase!!!" Daddy (and I ) couldn't resist so he took them out of the box for him:


He was having such a fun time playing he did not want to stop and pose for a picture:


Shortly after, we told him he needed to go lay down for a nap. He was starting to get cranky and it was past his nap time. He had NOT a problem going.. but his new motorcycle and trucks were going with him..along with his blankey (carried by Mommy) and his Rudolph (carried by Daddy):


This is him... "napping" (if you can't tell, he's playing with his motorcycle) HA:

While he was in his room; Chris and I started to tackle the counter tops and table. I now wish that I would have taken a before picture of our 3 cans of veggies in the pantry:

4 double cabinets FULL of food goods and we started stacking just to try to make room for it all. Yes our counter tops still have juices and boxed goodies that we couldn't find room for:

We are so Grateful for everyone involved .. those who were there and those who donated. I will honestly look at the Salvation Army and other organizations not to mention "bikers" differently. I am truly touched by them all.